The Bad Reputation of Pre Nuptial Agreements is Unfair

People usually give Pre Nuptial Agreements a really bad reputation, but I think that this is undue animosity.  Pre Nuptial Agreements are just like any other business deal; they protect the financial interests of all parties involved, as well as provide security of our individual assets.

Pre Nuptial Agreements reveal the intentions of the two people who are entering into a marriage contract.  Marriage is exactly that, a contract between two people and a Pre Nuptial Agreement is the exact same thing.

I am a big fan of and believer in Pre Nuptial Agreements because they guarantee our money, and ensure that our assets remain ours in case the marriage ever dissolves.  My boyfriend Nick comes from a family with money, and I do not.  If we ever decide to get married I would assume that his parents would encourage me to sign a Pre Nuptial Agreement.  I would have absolutely no problem signing a Pre Nuptial Agreement because that is not my money, nor should it ever be.

I am a strong believer that people are never entitled to something that is not ours.  Nick’s parent’s money is theirs, and someday it may be Nick’s, but it will never be my money.  I don’t understand couples who do not get married because of a Pre Nuptial Agreement, or lack thereof.

People should get married for love or companionship; they should definitely not get married for money. We should enter into a marriage with our own good financial habits, and we should leave a marriage the same way. We should leave a marriage with the same possessions and assets that we brought into it, and nothing more.  We should split the value of joint assets only if they were accumulated together.  I would never expect to give Nick half of my retirement savings, just as I would never expect the right to any of his retirement savings.  We should always treat our money like our marriage; we should cherish the relationship and protect it at the same time.

When people get divorced they shouldn’t be entitled to receive alimony payments. I personally feel that paying alimony to a spouse after a divorce is an unfair expense.  Spousal alimony gives someone the legal right to money that isn’t theirs.  We were an independent financial person before we became a couple, and upon divorce we should return to our original state.

The only time that paying alimony to an ex spouse would be acceptable (in my opinion) is if that spouse is the employer.  In other words, if a spouse stays at home because their job is to take care of the house and kids then they are entitled to some form of compensation.  I feel that a couple should be a 50/50 relationship and therefore each spouse is entitled to earn an income.

I do absolutely believe in child support. If a couple ends in divorce and the children spend the majority of their time with one parent, then the other parent retains financial responsibility for those children.  As a child of divorce I am a strong believer that a child should never suffer because the relationship between their parents ended.  Child support is intended to provide financial assistance for the kids, and it should absolutely be enforced by the law.

Kristina Tahnyak

Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.